


Deep down my soul

by light_daydream



Series: A tiny push is all we need [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crushes, I'll tag as I go, M/M, Mutual Pining, Tarot reader!Hyuck, like - if anything is important enough
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2019-12-07 21:11:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18240221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/light_daydream/pseuds/light_daydream
Summary: Donghyuck wants somebody to practice his tarot reading skills with and who's better than his love-stricken friends? It's all fun until Mark asks for a reading of his own.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this idea has been in my mind for quite some time actually since I first saw that video where donghyuck bought his tarot deck uwu i might have screeched a bit when I watched it for the first time :')  
> As a disclaimer, I don't really know much about tarot cards bc im a huge beginner so yeah the things I actually mention about the cards are generic af (doesnt mean theyre not true, I just picked "easy" cards on purpose lol)  
> Also, title taken from Ateez' Hala Hala bc I love them and the song but also maybe bc I was listening to their album while writing this chapter up~~ <3  
> I forgot what else I wanted to mention so imma end this here~ have fun and leave a kudos and/or some feedback if you want~ I'd appreciate it a lot ^^
> 
> PS. English isn't my first language so sorry for any mistakes. This is unbeta'ed and typed up in like 1 or 2h which might be the reason why it sucks a lil :')

Donghyuck gave a short shuffle to his cards. Then, with a grand swiping motion of his hand, he spread them in a semi circle on top of the table. He gave an inward sigh of relief when his theatrics weren’t ruined by the cards sliding off the laminated surface.

It’d happened before, but thankfully the only witness was Renjun. _Thankfully _, because Donghyuck was pretty sure the other boy was more into the movie he was watching on his laptop than him, so the chances of the older boy having noticed Donghyuck’s slip-up were small to none. Now though, he was in the middle of the school’s cafeteria, entertaining an audience of two people minimum.__

__Renjun had scoffed when Donghyuck showed them his new tarot deck, but Jaemin possibly got the most thrilled among the three of them. He’d clapped enthusiastically once, while a gigantic smile overtook half his face, and immediately demanded Donghyuck gift him a reading. Seeing the happy expression on his friend's face, Donghyuck didn’t mention that he’d been planning on asking them for help to practice his skills anyway. Jaemin had basically handed him a free favor pass and Donghyuck was smarter than blowing it away._ _

__“Close your eyes, think of your question, and pick three cards, please”, Donghyuck said in a faux serious tone. He entwined his fingers, and let his hands rest in front of him, as he raised his eyes to the boys opposite him. Jaemin was already following his orders, eyes closed and right hand hovering over the spread cards. Renjun met his eyes head-on, took a sip from his milk shake, and lightly shook his head like he still couldn’t believe Donghyuck was taking this so seriously._ _

__Donghyuck was on the verge of rolling his eyes at his friend, when Jaemin cut through the competitive tension by announcing his third picked card, effectively bringing everyone’s attention back to the tarot. Donghyuck gathered the three cards in his hands and turned them right side up._ _

__Even though the logical side of his brain helpfully reminded him that neither Renjun nor Jaemin knew anything about tarot, Donghyuck couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. He’d easily ignore Renjun’s snide remarks if he had to, but his pride would take a massive hit if the reading he was about to do ended up being horrendously inaccurate._ _

__A small book had accompanied the tarot deck he'd purchased, and Donghyuck was positive he’d learnt all the cards' meanings by heart. He’d watched hundreds of videos online to study the interpretations of different readers, and he’d even gone as far as reading some blog posts on how to deeper connect with his deck. On the first night he finally had the cards in his hands, after Donghyuck had completed the advised guided meditation, he placed his aspiring crystal collection, which admittedly only consisted of one stone at that moment, on top of the cards. The soft moonlight made the amethyst look like a small purple star to Donghyuck’s tired eyes._ _

__“Shouldn’t he ask his question out loud?”, Renjun asked, shooing Donghyuck’s random thoughts away. The smaller boy took another obnoxious sip of his milkshake, easily earning a withering look from Donghyuck._ _

__“Can you stop talking?”, Donghyuck hissed, before turning back to Jaemin. The younger boy was cutely blinking his eyes at them, eyes jumping from Renjun to Donghyuck and back. Donghyuck could still see the excitement in his rounded eyes, subdued, but still there. “So”, he began, placing each card down on the table in a neat row before meeting Jaemin’s curious gaze, “have you thought of a question to ask us?”_ _

__“Us?”, Renjun’s voice picked up again, colored by incredulity. Donghyuck slightly bit the inside of his cheek and tried to stop himself from snapping at his friend. If not for anything else, he had to keep the cards’ energy neutral._ _

__“I think he means him and the cards, Junnie, come on”, Jaemin let out a huff, followed by a sweet chuckle. Donghyuck could swear he saw Renjun’s eyes twinkle as he turned to look at Jaemin. He hid his flush by taking another sip of his drink, and Donghyuck had never been as happy about Renjun’s whipped state as he was right then._ _

__“As a matter of fact,” Donghyuck hoped his glower would stop Renjun from further being a nuisance during his reading, “that’s exactly what I meant, thank you, Jaemin”, he sent a grin towards the boy. “And your question will be?”_ _

__Jaemin’s excitement levels were picking up, and he giddily shuffled in his chair. “You know about Jeno from History, right?”, he began. He exchanged a look with Renjun, who’d gone back to quietly following their conversation, and Donghyuck huffed a laugh._ _

__“Yes, I’m aware of your massive crush on him. Was that your question for the cards, though, or did you just want to gush over him again?”, Donghyuck couldn’t help but tease his friend. He was a little disappointed when his quip didn’t garner him anything other than a small parting of Jaemin’s chapped lips and a brief shake of his head. Renjun snorted at his boyfriend’s impression of a deer caught in headlights._ _

__The pink haired boy ignored both of them, and after a deep inhale, he finally said, “I want to know what he thinks of us.” Jaemin shared another look with Renjun, and if Donghyuck was being honest, he really felt for his friends. It wasn’t often that his over-protective instincts were brought up, especially regarding these two particular boys, but the situation they’d found themselves in was bringing him heart ache by association._ _

__Looking back at the three cards Jaemin had picked, Donghyuck smiled. He picked the middle card up and pointed at the small printed caption on the bottom of it. Renjun squinted his eyes at the card and leaned closer, trying to make out the text._ _

__“L- love-”, Jaemin started off in stuttering english, brows furrowed._ _

__“Your English lessons are paying off, Mark would be proud”, Donghyuck snickered._ _

__“Shut up”, Jaemin rolled his eyes, the readily given insult without any actual heat behind it. “If it’s about love then it’s good, yeah?”, the sunny smile found its’ way back on his face._ _

__“Yeah, basically the lovers’ card, as the name implies, is one of the best cards to get in a love reading, Jaem”, Donghyuck rambled on, getting progressively excited as well. “And with this three of cups’ card signifying a possible third party, in my humble opinion, it can’t get any clearer.”_ _

__Jaemin let out a tiny squeal, turning to look at Renjun. Renjun gave a tiny smile back, and Donghyuck knew he was trying not to let this get to him, as well. “And what about this one?”, Jaemin asked, picking up the last card in the row in one hand._ _

__“Five of… wa-wands”, Jaemin pronounced in broken syllables. “What does this mean?”_ _

__“Well,” Donghyuck started, taking some time to bring the information he had on that particular card to the forefront of his mind, “Perhaps the person of interest is not sure about something concerning your situation”, he waved a hand between the card, Renjun, and Jaemin, for good measure. “I think you should be a little more obvious with your feelings, guys”, Donghyuck finished with a tiny, hopefully encouraging smile._ _

__“More obvious?”, Renjun sounded dubious, and he was about to continue talking when the bell cut him off._ _

__Donghyuck kept his eyes on Renjun’s as he started gathering his cards into a pile, raising his eyebrows at the other boy in a jokingly suggestive matter. “This was pretty easy, huh?”, he added with a toothy smile, and turned to look at Jaemin who was staring off into the distance, pulled in suddenly deep thought. Donghyuck pulled his little velvet pouch out of his jacket’s pocket and slid the tarot deck gently inside._ _

__“I guess”, Jaemin mumbled absentmindedly. His short sentence was drowned out by Renjun’s loud slurping.  
Donghyuck sighed, pushed himself off his seat, and grabbed Renjun’s milkshake cup with his free hand, before making a hasty exit. He walked up to the garbage bin, situated next to the cafeteria’s doors, and dramatically slammed it inside. The sound of the half-empty plastic bottle, smashing against the other contents of the bin was satisfying enough to keep Donghyuck smiling through the entirety of that period’s Math class._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 18-4-19: Chapter edit~ I fixed some mistakes I'd found. Hopefully I didn't create new ones lol


	2. Chapter 2

Donghyuck could only register a blond blur before he was unceremoniously dragged into the house.

“Wait,” he swatted furiously at the younger boy, “calm down”. He unhooked his shirt from around the door’s handle and huffed at Jisung. The blond boy looked flushed and slightly mortified.

“Sorry”, Jisung whispered back, in a small voice. He turned his gaze to the floor, then towards the living room, and finally back to Donghyuck.

This time, Donghyuck would let it slide. The younger’s puppy dog eyes were too cute to hold a grudge against. He shrugged, and started making his way towards the chatting voices he could hear coming from the living room. “What are you in such a hurry for, though?”

“Can you come upstairs for a bit?”, Jisung asked lowly, ignoring Donghyuck’s question entirely. He linked his arm around the older’s elbow, not really giving Donghyuck the chance to answer, and started lightly dragging him in the direction of the stairs. Donghyuck didn’t think he’d have the heart to deny Jisung anyway, when the younger’s current attitude resembled that of a small nervous mouse.

Jisung’s arm left his own, as he took to the steps two at a time, obviously trusting Donghyuck wouldn’t ditch him over snacks. Luckily for him, Donghyuck’s interest was picked by Jisung’s desperate aura, and he was soon following the younger into his bedroom.

If Renjun and Jaemin had heard the commotion they created with their loud footsteps, they didn’t care enough to call after them. They were probably lost in their world, Donghyuck thought, and gagged just at the thought of the couple’s heart eyes.

“So”, Donghyuck started, since Jisung hadn’t uttered a word once the door had closed behind them. “What’s this all about, Jisungie?”

An aborted sound left Jisung’s mouth, and he tried to downplay his nerves by walking up to his bed and sitting down on it with a loud sigh. Donghyuck could see the tips of his ears burning up, even if the blond avoided his gaze. He took a careful step towards him, and when Jisung didn’t give any sign of being alarmed, Donghyuck plopped down next to him. 

It was a known fact that Jisung disliked skinship, except if he initiated it, so Donghyuck pushed his hugging instinct down, instead murmuring a “hey,” to try and get Jisung’s attention. Whatever was troubling the younger, it was starting to make Donghyuck anxious, as well, at this point. “If you have something bothering you, you can always share it with me, Jisungie, you know that right?”, Donghyuck prodded gently.

Slowly, Jisung lifted his chin off his chest. “I know, hyung”, he muttered dejectedly, although he cracked a tiny smile up at Donghyuck. “It’s not- It’s not like something’s bothering me”, he let out in a rush.

“I haven’t seen you frown so hard since your mom told you Santa isn’t real by accident when you were five”, Donghyuck teased, trying to lift the mood a bit. The quip earned him a roll of the younger’s eyes.

“Well, he makes it hard to not get frustrated at him”, Jisung huffed. Donghyuck was about to ask who he was talking about, but then a certain green-haired boy popped in his mind.

“I never thought Chenle could manage to make you feel anything but whipped towards him”, Donghyuck said, with mischief written all across his eyes. He had to sit on top of his hands so we wouldn’t pinch Jisung’s cheeks when the blond let out an embarrassed yelp and flapped his hands around, futilely trying to deny the fact Donghyuck just admitted out loud.

Jisung pouted. “Mark hyung’s doing good, in case you were wondering”, Jisung’s voice went up an octave, boldly looking Donghyuck in the eye as he uttered each word.

Just hearing the brunet’s name sent Donghyuck into a daze. He quickly got over it, though, in order to coo over the younger, “That was weak, Sungie. Let’s talk about _your _crush, though”, he smirked and lifted an eyebrow at Jisung, making him start blushing all over again. Donghyuck noted that the younger hadn’t commented on his word choices, which, really, he counted as a win.__

__“When Renjun hyung and Jaemin hyung came by today, they”, Jisung paused suddenly, brows furrowing, like he was literally trying to remember what he’d dragged Donghyuck all the way up to his room for. Donghyuck huffed, he’d honestly wouldn’t put it past the younger boy to have forgotten already._ _

__“Please tell me the rest of that sentence doesn’t contain any making out”, he rushed to put in, before Jisung went back to his story._ _

__“Ugh, no”, Jisung frowned, “They were talking about a card reading you guys did”, he said, but it sounded more like a question._ _

__Donghyuck snorted. Jisung was being this dramatic over the reading he gave to Jaemin?_ _

__“Yeah, my tarot deck finally arrived. Remember? I showed it to you before I put my order in”, Donghyuck rambled, but stopped when Jisung only stared blankly back at him. “Why do I even try?”_ _

__Jisung had the decency to seem embarrassed. “Not my fault, hyung, that was like two weeks ago”, he whined._ _

__“You suddenly remember it was two weeks ago, though, huh?”, Donghyuck asked, adopting an offended look, even though he didn’t really care. Ignoring all of them was second nature to the boy._ _

__“Anyway”, Jisung huffed, figuring out he was being teased, “the reading?”_ _

__Donghyuck hummed, “What about it?” Then, he saw the boy’s expectant eyes, “Do you want one, as well?”_ _

__Jisung shrugged, “Maybe”, he mumbled._ _

__“Is that a ‘yes maybe’ or a ‘no maybe’? I thought you didn’t even believe in things like tarot and stuff”, Donghyuck mused._ _

__“Don’t knock it till you try it, right?”, Jisung tried to joke, missing by a long shot._ _

__“You knocked away the cake I made you for your birthday before I’d even crossed into your house”, Donghyuck pettily reminded the boy, “But alright, I’ll put the hurt in the past and give you a reading”, he nodded, look solemn._ _

__“For fuck’s sake, hyung”, Jisung whined, crossing his arms across his chest sullenly._ _

__Donghyuck reached into his pocket to grab his pouch, putting some distance between him and Jisung. “What does your Mark hyung say about that profanity?”, he mocked. Teasing Jisung was way too easy, Donghyuck felt bad for the boy sometimes._ _

__Jisung ignored him, as expected. Instead, he kept his eyes glued to the cards Donghyuck was spreading out._ _

__“Okay, I want you to think of your question, repeat it loud and clear in your head, and pick three cards that your intuition draws you to”, Donghyuck explained. Jisung looked nowhere near as excited as Jaemin was, but Donghyuck still appreciated the younger boy’s quiet contemplation as his eyes swiped across the cards._ _

__His hand quickly shot out, gathering three consecutive cards, before handing them to Donghyuck. Donghyuck placed them back down on the duvet, right side up. The cards looked promising, not as obvious as in Jaemin’s reading, but Donghyuck would have laughed out loud if Jisung had picked the lovers’ card, as well._ _

__“Alright, now, tell me your question. Otherwise it won’t be specific enough”, Donghyuck instructed._ _

__“Um,” Jisung stalled, “This is about a love thing”, he dumbly explained._ _

__“Don’t worry, I didn’t think you’d ask about your spiritual awakening”, Donghyuck joked._ _

__Jisung rolled his eyes, and gave an abashed chuckle, before lowering his voice and almost whispering, “Will Chenle and I ever become more than friends?”_ _

__The question stunned Donghyuck for a couple seconds. It wasn’t really a bold question, but it was bolder than what he was prepared to hear from Jisung’s lips. He felt odd even thinking about Jisung and Chenle being in a romantic relationship. Donghyuck mentally shuddered, before Jisung snapping his fingers in front of his face brought him back to reality._ _

__He took a moment to reorient himself, before pointing to the card in the middle, and finally saying, “You got the Four of Wands here”._ _

__Jisung let out another one of his aborted half-sounds, and Donghyuck looked at him unimpressed. “You don’t even know what that means”._ _

__“It’s wands”, the blond pointed out, as if that made any more sense to Donghyuck, “If it’s wands, it can’t be good”, he shrugged._ _

__“You’re kidding me, right?”, Donghyuck asked incredulously, turning his head and nodding towards the Harry Potter figurines Jisung had laid out across his bookshelves._ _

__“That’s… different”, his voice faded down to a whisper, before adding on a regular volume, “Okay, I see your point.”_ _

__Donghyuck opted to continue explaining the cards Jisung picked, instead of prolonging the exchange. “I’m in the happy position to tell you that you might be Chenle’s soft spot, as much as he’s yours”, he said, not able to completely disengage from his sarcastic inclination. “Although, we have been saying the same to you for years, so no news”, Donghyuck couldn’t help but add. “It’s cute actually – it seems like he finds your presence comforting”, he continued, a soft smile appearing on his lips._ _

__“Oh,” Jisung gasped, his fingers reaching for the card._ _

__Donghyuck let him be, as he moved on to the next card. “And you got The World, as well”, he said. “And I can’t stress this enough, Chenle would literally give you everything if you’d just let him. His motives are well-meaning and genuine, too.”_ _

__Jisung’s lips were still parted, and his stare was fixed on the cards, as if he was frozen in time._ _

__“And last, you were guided to The Star”, Donghyuck announced, “A very good card, indeed, as you might guess. Having gone through the previous two cards, this could basically just be your confirmation – Chenle’s feelings are favorable towards you. The universe is pushing you two together, but you’re currently resisting the natural progression of your relationship”, Donghyuck felt overwhelmed by the end of his spiel. He had no idea where all of these words came from, but their wholesomeness filled him with warmth inside._ _

__The buzzing of Jisung’s phone returned both boys back to their reality. Little pings followed the buzzing sound, and they didn’t stop until Jisung fished his phone from his pants’ front pocket and unlocked it._ _

__Donghyuck was studying the blond’s face, when he tried to fight back a laugh, eyes squeezing tight together, and cheeks bunching up, as he turned into the personification of cooing in mere seconds._ _

__“Fucking hell”, Donghyuck muttered, “Maybe I should start charging for this”, as he gathered the tarot cards and returned them back into the velvet pouch. When he was done, he turned his eyes to Jisung to find the boy already looking at him. “What is it?”_ _

__“Chenle’s asking if I want to hang out”, Jisung simply replied._ _

__“We can manage without you”, Donghyuck teased the boy, then in a more serious tone added, “Seriously, you should go.”_ _

__“Maybe I should just invite him over? He’d understand if I told him we already had plans”, Jisung mused, and Donghyuck didn’t really understand why his friend was even trying to come up with an alternative option, since both of them knew Jisung would rather go to Chenle’s place and spend some time along with the boy._ _

__Donghyuck had another figurative shudder travel through his body at the weird turn his mind took. They’d spend time alone _playing games _, nothing else. He let out a deep sigh.___ _

____“Don’t be dumb”, he started, “It’s early in the afternoon, and his mom is probably still at work. You guys will most likely have the house to yourselves. As much as any of us would love to have Chenle over, I think you should go over to his place this time around and _talk _to him”, Donghyuck emphasized, hoping Jisung caught his train of thought.___ _ _ _

______Jisung nodded, seemingly determined, and stood up from his bed. “Don’t watch Pride and Prejudice without me”, he warned, before turning and exiting his room, leaving Donghyuck behind._ _ _ _ _ _

______What Jisung didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him, he decided, hopping off the bed and running down the stairs and into the living room. Donghyuck was suddenly very much in the mood for a certain 19th century-set romance movie._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 19-4-19: Chapter edit~ I more or less rewrote the whole chapter lmao
> 
> I think I like this a lot more, and also believe that I gave the boys' characters a more 'realistic' spin compared to the previous version.
> 
> On another note, as all the boys are still in high school in this universe, their ages are more or less about a year below their real (western) ages (as of 2019). BUT, 00line and Mark are in the same class, and Chenle and Jisung are also classmates, although not the same age. To make the storyline work the way I wanted it to, Mark and Chenle both lost a year after moving to Korea from Canada and China respectively~ ik im very original lmao So, 5/7 are basically in year 12 and Chenji are in year 10 ^^
> 
> I kinda included a (vague) Pride & Prejudice reference in the first version of this chapter, which unfortunately ended up being scrapped in the editing process. To keep its' memory alive though, I managed to add the movie in somehow lol~ I definitely recommend that movie btw if you haven't seen it yet! The 2005 version is I think the most famous adaptation but also the one I first saw and love the most <3
> 
> PS. Vers 1) I was mostly listening to ONF's We Must Love album as I was typing this~ if you dont know them already you should go check their music out theyre so talented :')  
> Vers 2) During the rewrite of this chapter I've been listening to The Boyz on shuffle on Spotify lmao They have many great songs and I defo recommend them as well!! <3


	3. Chapter 3

“Donghyuck, get up!”, his mom’s voice hollered from behind his closed door.

Donghyuck sleepily snuggled into his covers before decidedly throwing them off of him, hissing at the sudden change in temperature. The cold made his brain jump-start and only then did Donghyuck realize his alarm was going off. He tapped his phone’s screen and the annoying sound immediately stopped.

“I’m up”, Donghyuck yelled back, and his mom’s footsteps started retreating. He rubbed at his eyes, which were still burning from fatigue, and concentrated on putting his clothes on right.

After hurriedly brushing his teeth (and rubbing at the small foamy spill on his shirt until it barely showed), he walked back to his room. His backpack was waiting for him under his desk and Donghyuck made sure all his books and notebooks were inside before also checking to see if the velvet pouch was still sitting next to his pencil case.

“Off to school, mom”, he shouldered his bag as he waited at the doorway to get a loud call from his mom wishing him a nice day and then Donghyuck was stepping outside. The chill in the air had left as soon as the sun rose higher in the sky and Donghyuck took a deep breath, the floral scent of spring filling his lungs and putting a smile on his face.

“Someone’s in a good mood”, Jaemin greeted him with a broad grin. The boy was shutting the door just as Donghyuck appeared behind the fence dividing their houses. 

“The sky is clear, spring is coming, what’s not to be happy about?”, Donghyuck sighed contently.

“Going to school?”, came Jisung’s voice from behind him. Donghyuck and Jaemin turned around to look at the younger approaching them.

“Good morning, Jisungie”, Jaemin cooed and went to pinch Jisung’s cheek. The younger grimaced and pulled away, rubbing at his abused cheek.

“You’re here early”, Donghyuck commented, ignoring Jisung’s quip altogether. Jaemin had delivered a sufficient punishment to the blond anyway.

Donghyuck curiously raised his eyebrows at him and Jisung averted his gaze quickly. The three of them had been walking to school together for years, and Donghyuck had lost count of the times he and Jaemin had to personally go to Jisung’s house in the morning and literally drag the younger boy out of bed.

“I’m going to meet up with Chenle and walk to school together”, Jisung mumbled shyly and finally looked back at Donghyuck with a pout. “I had to set twenty alarms in order to get up on time”, he continued, expression taking a pitiful turn.

The simple mention of Chenle’s name brought a subtle blush on Donghyuck’s cheeks. Jaemin’s amplified cooing faded out as the memories from last night slowly crept back to Donghyuck’s mind; Mark’s palm bumping against his own when they’d both reached for the same container at the same time; the older’s fingers brushing against the inside of Donghyuck’s wrist while they were busy storing the leftover food into the bowl – Donghyuck had easily dismissed these first two instances as purely accidental. Things like that were bound to happen when you had two fully grown teens standing closely together and stuffing sandwiches into the same one bowl. But then Mark was linking their hands together and smiling timidly at him, making Donghyuck stare at the older boy with wide eyes. At Donghyuck’s lack of reaction Mark had quickly withdrew his hand, coughing awkwardly against his fist. He’d proceeded to close the lid of the bowl and put it in the refrigerator, all the while Donghyuck continued to stare dumbly at his back. That last moment, though, along with the obvious flush high on Mark’s cheekbones had shifted something inside Donghyuck.

“We better go back”, Mark had mumbled. 

It’d been easy to bring his usual lofty and teasing attitude to the surface once they were around their friends and the familiar banter gave him enough confidence to plop down on the arm of Mark’s chair in a way of to melt some of the awkwardness away. The older boy had offered Donghyuck the seat right next to him, and Donghyuck was more than happy to oblige, relieved that his previously shocked behavior hadn’t registered as rejection. 

Mark’s warmth against his side had lingered in Donghyuck’s thoughts until tiredness won over at some point well into the early hours of the morning.

“Are you alright?”, Jaemin was waving a hand in front of his eyes, trying to get his attention. “You got a bit lost there”, he chuckled when Donghyuck’s eyes focused back on him.

Jisung was looking worriedly at him, too, and Donghyuck nodded his head emphatically. “Yeah, I’m okay”, he said, giving both boys a reassuring smile.

They’d reached the crossroad at the end of their neighborhood while Donghyuck had been spacing out and the other two had probably been exchanging retorts between them.

“I’m gonna go that way, then”, Jisung said in a careful tone, pointing to the opposite direction of their school.

“Don’t be late to school”, Donghyuck warned at his retreating back, and got an answering “Yes, dad” shouted back at him.

~+~+~+~+~+~

The day had progressively gotten hotter while Donghyuck had grown more bored with every passing hour. The lunch break bell had rung right as Donghyuck began contemplating whether or not faking a stomachache to leave the classroom earlier would be worth it.

Donghyuck stepped inside the school’s cafeteria and followed Chenle’s high-pitched laughter to their usual table. Jisung was sitting next to him while on the opposite seats were Jeno and Mark. Donghyuck’s eyes widened at both new additions. Although, given everything that happened yesterday, Jeno’s presence shouldn’t be this surprising.

“Good morning”, Jeno greeted him with an eye smile, his gaze almost immediately drifting to the two chatting boys appearing behind Donghyuck. With a roll of his eyes, Donghyuck moved to sit next to Jisung, sighing against the straw of his chocolate milk and ignoring the three boyfriends happily exchanging wide smiles and sweet words.

“Hey”, Mark whispered, almost into his ear, making him jump in his chair. The older boy had thoughtfully given up his seat so Jaemin and Renjun could sit next to Jeno and had moved to the top of the table, taking a seat right next to Donghyuck.

“Hi”, he managed to get out, hiding his fluster by taking another sip of his milk before sending the older boy a tiny smile.

“Hyuck”, Jaemin’s loud voice came from across the table. Any other time Donghyuck would be thankful for the distraction but Jaemin’s smirk almost made him groan out loud. “We never had the chance to thank you for your reading”, Jaemin went on once he was sure he’d gained Donghyuck’s attention.

“No need”, Donghyuck was quick to reassure, hoping it’d put a stop to the conversation Jaemin obviously wanted to start.

“But it basically got us together with Jeno”, Renjun added in and the mischief was clear behind the fake sincerity in his eyes. Through all the years of friendship, Donghyuck had learned to expect everything from Jaemin, especially if it involved ridiculing him in front of his crush, but Renjun usually didn’t go along with his boyfriend’s tricks and jokes. 

“What’s this about?”, Mark curiously butted in, expectant eyes fleeting over each boy’s face until they landed on Donghyuck.

Right at that moment, Donghyuck wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole if it meant taking him away from this conversation. When he’d started getting into tarot he’d mulled over the thought for days before he concluded to share the fact with Jaemin and Jisung one day on their way to school. Renjun had been chill about it, too, even though he remained a little wary of the whole process. He wasn’t sure if Chenle had found out already through Jisung or Renjun but he didn’t expect a bad reaction from the younger anyway. Who he dreaded finding out was Mark; Mark who played guitar at the church every Sunday and prayed every night before bed.

“Donghyuck hyung read the tarot for me”, Jisung replied instead. Everyone had turned their eyes to the youngest. Donghyuck threw a glare at him but it didn’t hamper Jisung’s greed for being a little shit . “I guess he read it for Jaemin hyung, too”, he continued with a proud smile on his face.

“You asked for a reading too?” Renjun incredulously asked.

“That’s not the point”, Jisung brushed him off, grabbing Chenle’s hand in his to stop the boy from hitting his shoulder repeatedly. The couple quickly engaged in a hushed conversation.

“So, you’re into tarot?” Mark inquired and his eyes momentarily met Donghyuck’s before the younger averted his gaze. Donghyuck hummed in reply, not feeling like his voice would properly work even if he tried using it.

“You should request a reading, hyung”, Jaemin slyly suggested, resting his chin on top of his propped up hand. “He did mine during lunch break, too.” 

Donghyuck rushed to come up with an excuse and he took great satisfaction watching Jaemin’s smug grin fall. “I don’t have my deck. I left it in my bag.”

“I can come by your house after school?”, Mark offered, his hopeful expression making him look like a puppy asking for some petting.

“What?” The word had left his mouth before he could hold it back.

“Oh”, Jaemin exclaimed enthusiastically, the smug grin back on his face as he made eye contact with Donghyuck and wiggled his eyebrows.

Donghyuck sighed. “I didn’t think you’d be interested”, he admitted, turning to Mark. If anyone had asked him, Donghyuck would confidently say his crush on Mark would fade away before anything like this came out of the older’s mouth. Donghyuck denied any trickle of hope from settling down in his heart.

“Why not?”, Mark asked softly, truly curious.

“Well”, Donghyuck started, not really sure how to word his sentence without sounding rude. “You’re Christian”, he ended up saying, immediately cringing at himself.

Mark snorted at him. “Religion and tarot are both spiritual practices”, he shrugged. Donghyuck stilled, once again stunned at what had left Mark’s lips. He fought the creeping hopefulness off harder.

Distantly, Donghyuck heard Jaemin squeal and Renjun and Jeno shush him at the same time. “If you’re really okay with it”, he paused, studying Mark’s expression for untold truths. He found none. “Then, sure, I guess I can read the cards for you.”

Even while agreeing to the reading, Donghyuck couldn’t help but think about the worst case scenario. Like, what would he do if Mark asked a question about his crush or something? Donghyuck’s stomach shriveled up even at the mere thought.

Mark’s grin brightened. “We can go to your house. Or mine. Whichever you prefer”, he went on giddily. Donghyuck would coo over his cuteness if he wasn’t so nervous already.

All his friends seemed to be against him today, Donghyuck mused as Jeno piped up, “Isn’t your house closer?”

“Is it?” Mark wondered, and Donghyuck felt like a creep for already knowing that fact was true. “Then we can go there. My parents are out of town so we won’t have to worry about distractions”, he turned his excited smile to Donghyuck again. Donghyuck tried to make his own smile look as sincere as possible in reply.

The bell drowned out Jaemin’s chatter and Donghyuck was thankful to not have heard what his best friend was happily sharing with rest of the table.

~+~+~+~+~+~

Mark’s house wasn’t far from the school and after a couple minutes they were already halfway there. Donghyuck was walking awkwardly next to Mark and, unable to come up with a conversation starter, he let the early afternoon traffic fill the silence until Mark’s voice broke it.

“So”, the older wrapped his fingers around the straps of his backpack in a nervous habit. “When did you start doing tarot readings?”

Donghyuck contemplated answering the question, not sure if the tense atmosphere would get worse or better if he did so. Mark was already looking at him so Donghyuck opted to reply truthfully. “I first got into it maybe a month ago, but I’ve got my tarot deck for only a couple weeks now”, he mumbled, his gaze anywhere but on Mark.

Mark hummed. “And did you really read for Jaemin and Jisung?”, he asked again, chuckling a little at the end. Donghyuck couldn’t blame him for questioning the validity of Jaemin’s words.

“Yeah, Renjun doesn’t really believe in tarot but Jaemin wanted to ask about Jeno so”, he let his sentence trail off, not feeling at all sorry for sharing that piece of information with the older boy.

Mark seemed to understand what he meant with his unfinished statement, nodding along before gently prodding for more. “And Jisung?”

“He found out I read for Jaemin and he wanted a reading for himself”, Donghyuck explained as vaguely as he could - he didn’t trust himself to keep from babbling on like a fool in front of Mark at this point. 

Thankfully, Mark didn’t press for more details on the matter, instead announcing, “We’re here”, as they reached his block. Donghyuck knew that, of course, but he still appreciated the change in subject.

Mark entered into his home and Donghyuck followed suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it obvious that I can't write dialogue for shiz?? ((yes, it is)) siiiiiiiiiiiiigh I hope one day I'll get better in that department lmao
> 
> I apologize for taking more than a month to update this and I hope you enjoy this (filler) chapter <3 The last one is on the way too and I'll have the norenmin spin off remaining before I'm finished with this series for the time being :')))
> 
> Anyhoo~~ (*´∀｀*)ﾉ｡+ﾟ *｡


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